Experience the best of Pelling

Pelling sits on a ridge at about 2,000 metres in West Sikkim, facing Kangchenjunga, the world's third-highest mountain at 8,586 metres, whose snowy ridge fills the horizon on clear mornings. Pemayangtse Monastery, founded in 1705 and one of Sikkim's oldest, stands on a hill above the town, its prayer hall painted with murals and holding a seven-tiered wooden sculpture.

The ruins of Rabdentse, the second capital of the Sikkim kingdom, lie a short walk away, and the old Sangachoeling monastery sits on a ridge above. Khecheopalri, a sacred lake ringed by forest, is some distance away. Yuksom, where the first king of Sikkim was crowned in 1642, is the trailhead for treks towards Kangchenjunga, and Darjeeling lies to the south.

Momos and thukpa, noodle soup, warm the cold evenings, and gundruk, fermented greens, and tongba, millet beer sipped through a bamboo straw, are Sikkimese favourites. Orchids and rhododendrons bloom in spring. The monsoon wraps the ridge in cloud from June to September, and October to December gives the clearest views.